Author: Nathan Taylor

I normally do my links post on Saturday, but was travelling. So here’s one for Thursday to catch up, and I’ll do another this coming Saturday. 1. One-state regimes are embracing markets but remain autocratic. Tyler Cowen called this “one of my more interesting columns as of late.” I agree. It’s excellent. He argues one… Continue reading Thursday Links 21-Jun-2018: the rise of market Autocracies, Uighurs, Taubes comeuppance, Scootermania

Once again it’s Saturday. So here’s what I enjoyed reading this week, with commentary as to why. 1. Pew Research shows teens using Facebook less. Teens are way cool so Facebook is doomed. A narrative that’s been overplayed for at least a decade. Example. But now Pew has a survey (with real survey data, not… Continue reading Saturday Links 9-Jun-2018: Facebook teens, Ozimek’s economy is alright, Ritchie’s Hypeology, chill out on banning plastic straws

Here’s links and commentary for this week….. 1. AI’s balmy winter. Filip Piekniewski has a post arguing AI Winter Is Well On Its Way. It’s an excellent corrective to the past several years of AI hype. Recommended! That said, I didn’t find it completely convincing, though my objections are mostly definitional.

1. FDA approves Golden Rice. Mark Lynas is a former anti-GMO activist, who in 2013 changed his mind about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Quote: It eventually dawned on me … that I was actually being anti-science in the way I was talking about GMOs, and that there are many ways a stronger scientific consensus on… Continue reading Saturday links 26-May-2018: Golden Rice, Algorithmic social feeds, Racism as original sin, Asteroid smotes flying birds

Here’s my Saturday weekly reads. Links to what I enjoyed reading, with commentary. 1. AI GPUs crush Moore’s law. Human intuition appears to be hardwired to linear  growth. Steve is a teenager, and if he grows an inch/year he’ll soon wind up as tall as his dad. But what if Steve grew exponentially? He’d match… Continue reading Saturday Links 19-May-2018: AI GPUs crush Moore’s law, Europa plumes, Ice cores and Rome, evolving cultural brains

It’s Saturday again, so here’s links/commentary on what I read and learned from this week. 1. Begun, the spam war has. The big tech news this week was the announcement of Google Duplex. Duplex launched with a demo of it calling a hair salon on the phone and talking to a human to make an… Continue reading Saturday Links 12-May-2018: Google Duplex means…begun, the spam war has. Also genomics math, chokers are the best, hearing with a vibrating vest.

My weekly list of good reads. With commentary on why I liked them. This week has more than usual, so let’s go. 1. Robin Hanson, sex redistribution, viral outrage. To recap, Hanson wrote a short post arguing inequality in the distribution of sex may be similar in importance to inequality in the distribution of income.… Continue reading Saturday Links 5-May-2018: Viral sex redistribution, Filipinos 700k years ago, Contingency of Marx, Marchetti’s constant, Email as micromeetings

Here’s links and comments on what I enjoyed reading this week. 1. DNA joins the surveillance society. This week police arrested a 72 year old man accused of 51 rapes and 12 murders between 1974 and 1986. He was tracked down using DNA site GEDmatch. How this works is you get your DNA results from a major… Continue reading Saturday Links 28-Apr-2018: DNA joins the surveillance society, voting for status, music streaming, seagoing Neanderthals

Here’s my favorite reads from this week, with comments. 1. Apple Customers love iPhone X, except for Siri. Ben Bajarin at Creative Strategies published an ungated version of their iPhone survey, and no surprise people love the new interface. That is, the replacement of the home button with a swipe based interface, and unlock using… Continue reading Saturday Links 21-Apr-2018 iPhone X survey, humans at sea, Huang’s law, housing, humans versus megafauna